Families

In his new book, Josh Levs says many dads today want to engage with their families, but old office stereotypes prevail, with corporate policies standing in the way. He says that hurts not only fathers, but families and businesses as well.

Police shootings and deaths of African-Americans in police custody have prompted calls for a national conversation about race. So, what do well-meaning white people have to add? We speak with the author of a new memoir urges white people to examine their privileged place in a stacked deck. Plus, the five words many parents dread: “where do babies come from?” A new book answers that question at a time where surrogacy, same sex couples, and fertility labs are challenging old norms and the standby response, “when a daddy really loves a mommy…” Today, we’re tackling the tough conversations.

There are many factors that affect the way a family with children lives. We've selected ten of these - factors which affect income, access to resources, and stability - and combined them to illustrate how families are doing at either end of the income spectrum.

This graphic illustrates how the top 25% and bottom 25% compare, and how the bottom 25% compares with the average of all New Hampshire families.

Getting together for dinner on a regular basis can be tough for any family, but it is especially hard for military families during deployments. On today’s show: how one mother of three dealt with her husband’s deployment, by asking guests to fill his empty seat once a week. Then, the artist M.C. Escher may be best known for his repeating patterns and mind-bending optical illusions, but a new exhibit at the Currier Museum of Art, touted as the most comprehensive retrospective of Escher’s work, is highlighting his lesser known illustrations.

A new national report finds New Hampshire and plenty of other states sorely lacking when it comes to supporting new parents. This comes amid a larger, national conversation about “family-friendly” work environments: what that involves, what’s reasonable and what isn’t, and how some of these policies affect productivity and the bottom line.

Statistically speaking, American foster children face a steep uphill battle. A 2010 study showed nearly 25 percent of foster care children end up homeless at some point after exiting the system, and teen girls in foster care were more likely to become pregnant than to get adopted. One fledgling foster care experiment has done away with the foster family system in favor of a mutually supportive group-home. The San Pasqual Academy is a $14 million dollar nonprofit based in San Diego that houses 180 foster kids. Natasha Vargas-Cooper is a freelance journalist who wrote about San Pasqual for Pacific Standard.